


Death by Scientia

by whythekwehnot



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, Happy Birthday Ignis, battle on angelgard, buh bye blade keeper, eat ignis’ spear, elements of dawn of the future used, post comrades canon divergence, the end of a tyrant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22606363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whythekwehnot/pseuds/whythekwehnot
Summary: Ignis battles Bahamut to end his plan and prophecies.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Death by Scientia

Ignis crouches at the top of the hill adjacent to where he had earlier spotted what looks like a gladiator arena of sorts. There are stone walls erected in a circle and swords jutting out all around it. Ignis had been plotting how to weaken or destroy Bahamut since he had received the vision of Noctis’s death on the throne. Ignis had scoured every text he could find on the mythology and history of Eos. Then Gentiana had come to him, the messenger was unable to say much, but what she did say pointed at the Blade Keeper’s culpability with regard to their current predicament. The Blade Keeper had planned all of this out, choosing Somnus over Ardyn, cursing Ardyn and setting him on the path he currently tread, Noct’s fate and finally, standing by as their world was overtaken with the Scourge. 

The Six were bound to protect Eos, yet Bahamut was ever absent. Their myths told of his watch over the heavens, but they also told of his duty to the star itself, however, there was no evidence of him being on Eos since the Astral War. Gentiana’s information, limited though it was, paired with his vision, had convinced Ignis that he had to try to defeat the Draconian, for the sake of everybody. Bahamut was becoming a tyrant and Ignis would not allow it. 

_ To hell with the Astrals and their bloody prophecies.  _

So he waits and watches the fight unfold as the remaining kingsglaive attempt to defeat him. The battle is slow, the glaives struggle to find any ground against Bahamut, but they persevere. They strike hard and fast and never give up. One of them falls, his comrades unable to reach him quickly enough. Ignis stays where he is, fighting with his conscience as he debates running down to save the glaive or staying where he is and not bringing the astral’s attention onto himself. 

He does not move. 

The fight continues below, Bahamut begins to slow as the remaining soldiers spread out and flank him on all sides. He may be the blade keeper, but he still only had two hands, and two hands could not fight three people at once. Ignis’ strategic knowledge kicks in as he continues to watch, he approves of their tactic to spread out, but they must speed up to make any headway, and take advantage of the positions they had gained. Ignis wills them to hit faster, to move with more haste. 

The fight progresses in a blur of movement and blue light. Bahamut’s movements become more staggered, the astral losing some of his momentum in the battle. He is still much faster than the glaives but their strikes become critical and he starts to miss every few hits. Ignis can tell that the fight is drawing to its conclusion and mentally reaches for his favourite spelldaggers, grateful that his bond with Noct means that the armiger is still active, despite his King slumbering within the crystal. 

Bahamut falls to his knees. The glaives regather and make their final stand. 

All of them warp high into the air and land their weapons deep in Bahamut’s armour. One makes a crack appear in his helmet, another on his shoulder and the last breaks a metal wing, the weight of it sending shockwaves through the ground, strong enough for Ignis to feel the vibrations. Ignis covers his ears as Bahamut speaks, reaffirming that the Kingsglaive are loyal and worthy soldiers to support the True King. Before either glaive or astral has the opportunity to leave, Ignis sprints down from the small hill and vaults over the wall, landing directly opposite the Blade Keeper. 

“Bahamut!” He spat.

The astral rose to his feet, towering over Ignis, “You serve the True King.”

“I do, and I will not allow him to die for your ridiculous plan. The tyranny of Bahamut is at an end.” Ignis did not wait for any response, instead he launches into a full frontal attack, charging his daggers with lightning energy. The three surviving glaives recognise Ignis, their eyes widen in surprise but they hesitate for a moment before Ignis orders them to leave. 

Bahamut is slow from his defeat at the hands of the remaining Kingsglaive, his movements clumsier than what Ignis had observed. Ignis launches himself into the air with his polearm, pointing it at the crack in the Draconian’s helmet. He strikes, successfully making the damage done by the glaives worse, the crack growing longer. 

He attacks the same spot again and again. 

Bahamut’s helmet breaks, the mask he wears falling to the stone in a spectacular crash, the  _ bang!  _ rattles through the tactician’s skull. 

Thunder cracks high above them, the sky darkening and roiling with the anger of a God. Ignis pauses and looks up, Ramuh is there, his sceptre held up high, as if he is charging the bolts of lightning that strike the arena. Ignis refocuses on his enemy, who is preparing to attack, his multitude of swords swirling behind him in a deathly display of his power. Ignis runs behind a large stone that had fallen from atop the wall in the earlier battle, crouching low to take cover. 

He sends a prayer to Shiva.

The air cools, his breath beginning to form a cloud in front of him. 

The Glacian appears, a question in her eyes as she tilts her head to the side. 

“Help me, I will not give up, not until I have stopped him; but he is one of you, I need your help!” He cried, willing the remaining Astrals to aid him. 

Shiva nods her head once, “Your goal is true, and loyal. So it shall be done, by the will of the Glacian, and messengers of the Gods, we will assist you. Ramuh has already begun. The King’s Advisor must continue, he must fight again. The Covenant is formed.” Shiva disappears again for a moment. 

Bahamut rains his great swords down around Ignis, one spearing through the rock behind which he hides, shattering it. Ignis is catapulted forward, forcing himself to roll out the shockwave.

Ignis stands, summoning his daggers once more as he tries to find any other weaknesses he might be able to take advantage of. There is the crack in the armour protecting his back, and the broken wing. He charges the twin blades with fire, and runs behind the Blade Keeper, he briefly summons his polearm to use it to push himself off the ground, switching back to the daggers in mid-air and sinking both weapons into the the second crack in the armour. The flames leave the daggers, flooding into the astral’s back. Bahamut collapses onto one knee, the flash of pain clear in his eyes. Ignis jumps back to the ground, preparing himself to continue the fight when a colossal tidal wave encases the arena. The water is a hundred foot high, a giant, swirling mass of unbreakable steel. Leviathan appears, her roar forcing him to shield his ears. The sky still screams with the display of Ramuh‘s power, dark clouds smothering the heavens and thunder making the ground shake. 

Shiva reappears, in her smaller form, surrounded by copies of herself, “Bahamut, you have become that which we cannot allow. You believe humanity to be yours for the taking and this star yours to control. We protect our star, even from one of our own. Stop your plan, or we Six shall stop it for you.” 

Ignis watches as the Gods try to reason with one of their own, though he secretly hopes that Bahamut will refuse their order. Only once he is defeated, can Ignis truly protect Noct. 

_ “Humans are not ours to protect, they are there to do as we bid. You have all become weak. I am stronger than all of your powers combined.”  _

Bahamut’s gaze fell to the ground, where a massive boulder lands at his feet, Titan’s anger demonstrated in a visceral display of strength. 

Ignis can do nought but watch as one by one, the Astral’s attack Bahamut. Shiva freezes the air around him, Leviathan’s waves drown him, Titan launches more projectiles against his body and Ramuh’s lightning bolts strike him repeatedly, causing the remaining armour to shatter and fall. 

Bahamut stands tall, shards of broken metal all around his mortal form, more shrapnel falling from his gigantic form as they last vestiges of armour fall. 

Ignis stares, for he looks familiar.  _ Noctis, the Draconian’s true face, is like Noctis. _

He shakes his head, it could be a trick and if it isn’t, he needs to push forward, and accept the consequences. The ground shakes further, the astrals power combining in one final attack. Bahamut falls backward, landing hard on top of the shards of armour. 

Ignis wastes no time in his final attack, he summons his spear one last time and catapults himself into the air with it. With the armour destroyed, the Blade Keeper’s chest is bare aside from some kind of thin material. 

Ignis buries the spear deep into the heart of the Bahamut, a feral scream escaping him as he delivers the killing blow. 

‘ _ I did what I believed was best by our star.”  _ Bahamut spoke to Ignis, before he closed his eyes for the final time. 

He had done it, Bahamut was dead and Noctis could be saved. Ignis sends his spear back into the armiger and goes to leave the island. Leaving the Draconian’s cadaver as a reminder of the power of humanity, their will when they are against all odds, and one man's loyalty to his King. 


End file.
